The present invention pertains filtration systems. More particularly, this invention is directed to a filtration system that can recycle industrial liquid coolant used in tooling machines, and the like; the system employs a magnetic separator to remove ferrous materials and a filtration unit having a pair of canisters each with a bag filter that provides built in redundancy for removing dirt and oil down to a particle size of 0.5 microns, if desired.
Magnetic drum separators for removing ferrous shavings from industrial liquid coolant are known in the industry. Further, the use of cylindrical canisters with replaceable filter bags is known for removing particles from fluids. However, these components are not readily combined into a useful system, requiring considerable effort to interconnect the elements with hoses, pumps, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a palletized system that can simply be plugged into a machine tool to provide the necessary filtration. This filtration system, marketed under the name HYDRO-MAG, has the potential to lengthen machine tool life, increase production time by reducing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance time, increase usable coolant life and eliminate E.P.A. disposal wastes associated with coolant.
The HYDRO-MAG is a fully automated coolant filtration system designed to separate ferrous material, tramp oil, dirt, grindings, and sludge from industrial liquid coolant. Use of the system will greatly increase the life of the coolant, filter bags and tooling which further reduces down time of the machine tool. The filter system can be operated by 110-120 volts AC and shop air pressure, virtually every shop having these services available.
The filtration system of the present invention comprises a) a tank separated into two sides, a dirty side and a clean side; b) a magnetic separator for removing ferrous material from the liquid; c) a filtration system including i) a first filter for removing particles up to 0.5 microns from the liquid; ii) a second filter for removing particles up to 0.5 microns from the liquid; d) a pump for transferring a stream of liquid from a machine tool, through said magnetic separator and said filtration system into said dirty side of said tank; e) a sensor for detecting when said first filter is approaching an end of its service cycle; f) circuit means to switch the stream of liquid from said first filter to said second filter responsive to said sensor; g) an indicator for warning that said first filter has reached the end of its service cycle so that it can undergo maintenance. The first and second filters are cylindrical canisters equipped with disposable filter bags for removing particulate down to 0.5 microns in diameter. Different bags can remove tramp oil or adjust the particle size to fit a particular machine tool requirement. The means for detecting preferably comprises a pressure sensor for determining when a certain back pressure, 25 psi for example, has been reached upstream of said first filter.
The magnetic separator preferably comprises a drum made up of alternating disks of magnetic material and intermediate spacers. The magnetic drum rotates in a direction opposite that of the flow of coolant into the separator. A key element of the magnetic separator is a floating scraper that maintains constant contact with a surface portion of said drum to remove the metal shavings which are magnetically adhered thereto. A level detecting sensor positioned on the dirty side of said tank activates the filtration system""s operation when necessary and shuts down when there is insufficient liquid in need of processing present.
The features of the magnetic separator for removing metal shavings from liquid coolant include: a) a tank for holding a quantity of liquid coolant; b) a magnetic drum composed of alternating disks of magnetic material and spacers positioned in the tank, the magnetic drum being rotated in a direction opposite a direction of flow of a fluid stream of the coolant in the tank; c) a scraper in continuous contact with a surface portion of the magnetic drum to remove ferrous material from the surface which has been extracted from the stream of coolant, the scraper being mounted on a pair of arms, the pair of arms being pivotable about an axis which is above a rotational axis of said magnetic drum to maintain said scraper in continuous contact with the surface of the drum. The magnetic separator includes connectors attached to a rear portion of said tank to facilitate connection to a machine tool and allow flow of dirty coolant into said magnetic separator.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after a reading of the following specification.